SoftBank may invest up to $300 mn in Ola

SoftBank may invest up to $300 mn in Ola

Japanese Internet and telecom firm SoftBank Group Corp may invest $250-300 million (Rs 1,700-2,000 crore) in ride-hailing service Ola, a media report said.

The Economic Times reported, citing two people it didn't name, that SoftBank will lead the next round of funding in ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd, which runs Ola.

An Ola spokesperson didn't respond to an email seeking comment till the time of filing this article. A spokesperson for SoftBank said in an emailed statement to TechCircle that the company doesn't "comment on speculation".

Some of these firms have been facing huge fund crunch as SoftBank put a pause on writing large cheques. These companies have a glimmer of hope now as SoftBank chairman Masayoshi Son said the new fund would be the biggest investor in tech firms over the next decade.

SoftBank has already invested close to $2 billion in India. The Japanese company led a $627 million funding round in Snapdeal in late 2014 and subsequently participated in the e-commerce marketplace's $500 million fundraise in 2015. It became the lead investor in taxi-app Ola with $210 million nearly two years ago when its then second-in-command Nikesh Arora led its big-bang India entry.